Spellbound by Kelly Jameson Read Free Book Online Page B

forest and scrub of the broad mountains; sparkling streams cut across the craggy wilderness along the eastern border. She wouldn’t know how to cross them or how to find her way back to her village, but she would rather face the dark woods than Kade MacAlister.
    From below came the low whining of dogs, the sharp clank of tankards, the talk of men and the wailing of women, and Maighdlin felt for them, for their recent losses.
    The ale had made her sleepy. It had tasted good, tasted of heather, not like the ale brewed in her village. The strength of it now pulled at her eyelids, lulling her near to sleep. It was then she spied the shining, bejeweled handle of a dagger near hidden by cloth, a dagger small enough to fit beneath her sleeve.
    She curled up on the floor before the hearth, shivering, trying in vain to get warm, the dagger safely hidden on her person. She eyed the bed. Though it was tempting with its gold coverlet, she would not seek warmth where he slept. Finally, she shut her eyes.

10
    Ian glanced at his friend, his dark head bent low over another tankard of ale. “Ye found her in the village, truly, on the word of a serving wench?” he asked Kade.
    “ Aye, she has the mark of the MacKinnon.”
    Ian scratched his bearded chin. “Bu how can ye be sure? Do ye no’ think someone will come for her?”
    Kade grunted. “Aye—I have no doubt. And as to those men, they would be driven away by an army of sheep! Cowards, and few in number.”
    Ian sighed. He was a year younger and not in a position to offer advice. He was unsure of himself now that Kade was laird. He had not suffered the loss of a brother or a wife-to-be, so he couldn’t know Kade's pain.
    “ What will ye do with the lass?” he asked.
    “ I dunna know.”
    “ Where is she? In the tower?”
    “ In my chamber.”
    Kade's answer surprised Ian.
    “ A guard is posted at the door.”
    “ What of auld Brodie? Will ye send him yer demands, a ransom note?”
    Kade looked up from his ale, shadows of fatigue beneath his eyes. “Ransom? Nay. 'Tis no’ auld Brodie's coin I seek. Ye know that.”
    Ian felt a bit sorry for the girl, for if the tale were true, she’d never known her father and had grown up in a village far from the man and his sins. Ian had known Kade since they were both lads. They were friends, had fought side by side in many a battle. Each knew the ruthless strength and prowess of the other; each knew the hopes, dreams and hurts of the other. Yet Kade had come back from Ireland a changed man. And he’d come back to find his brother and his wife-to-be dead.
    There was a ruthless current in him now that Ian hadn't sensed before, a desire for vengeance that threatened to consume him. Ian worried it would destroy his friend. “Ye know that killing the girl willna bring Niall and Fenalla back,” he said quietly.
    “ I dunna seek the girl’s blood. I seek the man's. His suffering, his submission, his very death.”
    Ian sipped his brandy. “Are ye so sure 'twill make ye feel better?”
    “ I surely couldna feel worse.”
    Ian eyed him warily. There were things he suspected, things maybe Kade was blind to. But it wasn’t his duty to point them out. No when it was mere speculation. Kade had been away for three years. Much had changed in that time, even Niall. Ian had seen something akin to guilt in the elder MacAlister's eyes on too many occasions, and he didna want to think of the rumors now. His thoughts shamed him. He took another swig of whisky. It was growing late.
    “ What will ye do with her?”
    “ I dunna know.”
    “ Have ye thought of marriage to the girl?” Ian said, half joking. “Look at the suffering that surrounds us, the sorrow, the heavy hearts. Would no’ a grand celebration provide a wee bit of cheer to the clan and the villagers, after so much loss and sadness? ‘Tis something auld Brodie would ne’er expect, the one thing he could surely no’ abide, if the bonnie lass is his daughter, well and true.